Hosting a party or large gathering can be stressful, but the food doesn’t have to be. These ground chicken meatballs are a real game-changer for busy hosts. The secret to their success lies in their make-ahead and freeze-friendly nature. Assemble and bake the meatballs in advance, freeze them, and then let your crockpot do the rest on party day. Four hours before your party or gathering, toss the frozen meatballs into a crockpot on low heat with a tangy-sweet sauce made with chili sauce, apricot preserves, Dijon mustard, and a touch of garlic powder. These make-ahead apricot party meatballs are sure to be the life of the party.
Preparing for a party is always a pain in the tuckus. First, you have to plan the perfect party, which sounds easy but is pretty much impossible. It’s hard to cater to every guest, especially when so many people have food allergies, are vegetarians or vegans, are gluten-free, or are just picky eaters. You might as well forget about making everyone happy because it’s just not gonna happen, no matter how hard you try. Instead, spend your time in the weeks leading up to the party doing as much ahead of time as possible. This recipe will help you with that. Meatballs are the perfect appetizer to make ahead of time and freeze. On the day of the party, all you have to do is take them out of the freezer and then throw them in a crockpot with a quick-to-put-together sauce. Four hours later, you’ll have an appetizer that all of your guests will love, except for the vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free individuals. They’ll just have to make do with carrot and celery sticks.
Here are a few quick hints for making these meatballs perfectly, unlike me. Yes, I did have a few issues arise when making these little balls of sweetness. First, when freezing the meatballs, make sure to put a piece of wax paper between each layer of meatballs to prevent them from sticking. I did think ahead and use this tip, but I forgot to place a piece of wax paper underneath the first layer of meatballs and had a doozy of a time getting them unstuck from the glass baking dish I had frozen them in. Lesson learned. Secondly, I cooked my meatballs for more than four hours, which meant that they were somewhat overdone. They were still good, but I think less cooking time is a good thing when it comes to meatballs. Remember, they are already completely cooked, so they really only need time to defrost, get warm, and meld with the tasty sauce you are cooking them in. And then, last but not least, make sure to stir the meatballs every half an hour to an hour. Remember, this is a recipe you’re making before a party, which means you’ll be at home while they are “crockpotting,” and most likely in the kitchen anyway. It’s not a big ordeal to stir these little guys up every once in a while to prevent them from burning.
Hopefully, this recipe will come in handy for your next party. I can’t express how nice it is to have at least one dish that is simple and requires little effort to throw together on the big day. Between cooking, cleaning, decorating, giving directions to your home, and answering party guests’ last-minute questions, you deserve to have one thing actually be uncomplicated and straightforward. Forget the fancy tea sandwiches, which take hours to assemble, as well as the baked dips, which all too quickly become a thick dish of goo if not eaten 30 minutes after being removed from the oven. Whip up a crockpot of meatballs instead. Make your meat-loving, gluten-tolerant, un-picky friends ecstatic while saving your time for more essential party-planning chores like perfecting the perfect cocktail.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
- 3 Pounds Ground Chicken
- 1 Shallot, Finely Minced
- 1 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped
- 2 Teaspoons Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Dry Mustard
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
- 1 Cup Steel Cut Oatmeal
Sauce:
- 1 (12-oz.) Bottle Chili Sauce
- 1 (13-oz.) Jar Apricot Preserves
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Directions:
Meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with foil, and then coat with cooking spray.
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl with your hands.
- Use a small cookie scoop to measure out uniform meatballs and then roll them between the palms of your hands to give them a round shape.
- Place all of the meatballs on the foil-lined baking sheets, making sure to leave a 1/2-inch between each one.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Turn the meatballs halfway through the cooking time.
- Allow the meatballs to cool completely before freezing them between layers of wax paper in a resealable plastic bag or airtight glass dish.
Sauce:
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a crockpot.
- Add the frozen meatballs and toss to coat.
- Bake on low heat for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to every hour.
Suggestions:
- Roll enough meatballs to fill one baking sheet, and then place them in the oven to cook while you are finishing up the meatballs for the second baking sheet.
- Remember to place the meatballs between layers of wax paper when freezing them to prevent them from sticking to one another.
- If you aren’t having a big party, make half the amount of meatballs and leave the rest in the freezer for later use. Follow the same directions for the meatball sauce. Your meatballs will just cook in more sauce, and more sauce is never a bad thing. You can even make small meatball subs by serving the meatballs with sauce on hot dog rolls.
Improvements:
- Replace the apricot preserves with grape or apple jelly.
- Add 2 cloves of minced garlic to the meatballs instead of garlic powder.
- Add a few tablespoons of bourbon or whiskey to the meatball sauce.
- Use this Brown Sugar Balsamic Summer Peach Sauce to make these meatballs.
Ingredients:
- 3 Pounds Ground Chicken
- 1 Shallot, Finely Minced
- 1 Bunch Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped
- 2 Teaspoons Finely Ground Sea Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Dry Mustard
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
- 1 Cup Steel Cut Oatmeal
- 1 (12-oz.) Bottle Chili Sauce
- 1 (13-oz.) Jar Apricot Preserves
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with foil, and then coat with cooking spray.
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl with your hands.
- Use a small cookie scoop to measure out uniform meatballs and then roll them between the palms of your hands to give them a round shape.
- Place all of the meatballs on the foil-lined baking sheets, making sure to leave a 1/2-inch between each one.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until thoroughly cooked. Turn the meatballs halfway through the cooking time.
- Allow the meatballs to cool completely before freezing them between layers of wax paper in a resealable plastic bag or airtight glass dish.
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a crockpot.
- Add the frozen meatballs and toss to coat.
- Bake on low heat for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to every hour.
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Crockpot Monday Link-Up Party #2:
Welcome to Crockpot Monday. It’s just a crockpot, Monday, dinner, and hopefully a whole lotta yummy, uncomplicated, and time-saving scrumptious food. Please follow along at Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck for future Crockpot Monday posts, join our Facebook page, or even get ideas on Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck’s Crockpot Monday Ideas Pinterest page.
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